Raptors G Fred VanVleet chips tooth, needs seven stitches after taking hard elbow to face
Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet had to head to the locker room during Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Friday after a hard elbow opened up a bloody cut on his face and appeared to leave one of his teeth on the court.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Golden State Warriors guard Shaun Livingston took a contested shot in the paint and accidentally dropped his left elbow directly into VanVleet’s face.
VanVleet immediately dropped to the floor and could immediately be seen with blood flowing down his right eye.
Fred VanVleet headed back to the locker room after catching an elbow in the face from Shaun Livingston. pic.twitter.com/2zGmH8nQiR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 8, 2019
What looked like VanVleet’s tooth was later found on the floor by cameras. The Raptors guard soon headed to the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion and received seven stitches, according to ESPN’s Doris Burke.
Looks like Fred VanVleet left a lil something on the court 😬pic.twitter.com/zmoJctNdXq
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) June 8, 2019
Tests would later reveal that VanVleet did not sustain a concussion, clearing him to return to the Raptors’ bench later in the fourth quarter. VanVleet never re-entered the game though, finishing with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting, six assists and four rebounds in 29 minutes in a convincing Raptors win.
Most importantly, the tooth was picked up and returned to VanVleet, per ESPN’s Cassidy Hubbarth. VanVleet revealed after the game that the tooth was chipped, not knocked out, and that he didn’t re-enter the game because he felt woozy from getting his face stitched up. Which is understandable.
VanVleet later posted a selfie on Instagram that revealed the extent of the dental damage.
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) June 8, 2019
Looks like VanVleet is now qualified to be a hockey player too.
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